Beijing confirmed for the first time that foot-and-mouth disease broke out, deepening the worries of China's soybean market

Introduction: Hong Kong, May 16: Beijing confirmed for the first time that the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has deepened concerns in China's soybean market, making it frosty in the snow due to sluggish demand for animal feed and weak squeeze profits Traders and industry insiders said Monday that the presence of the disease in China is no longer news, but official confirmation means the situation is much more serious than in the past China told the International Animal Health Organization (OIE) on Friday that two cases of the highly pathogenic disease occurred in late April, which can cause weight loss in cloven hoofed animals such as cattle and pigs Although they don't think there's much risk of Chinese crushers breaking contracts on soybeans like when they made a profit loss a year ago, traders say the news will cause more buyers to delay shipping soybeans Some also worry that consumers may be reluctant to eat pork and beef, just as SARS and bird flu caused a sharp drop in poultry consumption "The facts reported by the government indicate that it has become a very serious problem," said a businessman at an international trade bank in Shanghai Another senior trader in Beijing said: "the local soybean meal market has been very depressed, with large inventories If the disease spreads, it will severely hit the soybean meal market " "The impact is more psychological," said an industry official in Beijing in June and July People may panic because of this.. It may have a huge impact on the food market " "If the situation becomes severe, it will have a really huge impact on feed consumption," the Beijing trader said Most of the details depend on the level of coverage by the Chinese media " Due to the cautious purchase of beans by Chinese crushers this year, traders and industry figures do not think there will be a large number of contract breaking events, especially in the current situation that many crushers are hedging in the soybean meal market in Dalian "What's good is that China doesn't buy much," he said Suppliers have asked squeezers to pay strictly in accordance with their contracts, as they have been cautious in their purchases in the wake of last year's poor economic situation following the bird flu crisis Traders say Chinese buyers have purchased several ships of July soybeans, only a few of June soybeans, although the recent C & F (cost and freight) premium has fallen from more than 170 cents a month ago to 150 cents.